BOO! Were You Scared?
by AznVKai
Summary: 2009 HALLOWEEN FAN FICTION - Nothing scares Hitsugaya. So, in order to prove him wrong, Hinamori made various attempts to scare the young prodigy including the ones during their investigation at a haunted house in West Rukongai District 80. COMPLETE
1. BOO!

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own the _Bleach_ series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

* * *

**Synopsis: **Nothing scares Hitsugaya Toshiro. So, in order to prove him wrong, Hinamori Momo made various attempts to scare the young prodigy including the ones during their investigation at a haunted house in West Rukongai District 80.

* * *

**Author's Note:** My 2009 HitsuHina Short Shot Halloween Fan Fiction. What else is there to say? Enjoy!

* * *

**LEGEND**

"Talking."_ "Thinking." _

* * *

**BOO! Were You Scared?**

**Part I:** BOO!

"BOO!"

"Matsumoto, what are you trying to do?" Captain Hitsugaya asked. "What's with that mask you're wearing?"

The vice-captain snapped her fingers with slight frustration. Her attempt of scaring her own captain in his office has failed miserably. Removing the Hollow looking mask from her face, Matsumoto Rangiku complained, "You're so stingy taicho! Why can't you be scared for once?"

"If I were scared in the first place, I would have not decided to become a captain of the Gotei 13," he replied. "Besides, that type of scaring is child's play."

"Someone definitely has lost his inner child," she said, grinning at him.

Knowing Matsumoto for so long, Hitsugaya knew she is going to once again stir up trouble for him. He glared at her. "Just what are you up to this time?"

"Nothing really. I want to talk to you about this special holiday that is going on today in the living world."

Placing an elbow on his desk, he allowed his chin to rest on his hand for support. "If it's about Halloween, I already know about it."

"Eh, you do? Since when did you find out about it?" Matsumoto asked. "Don't tell me Ichigo or the others from the living world has told you about it."

"No, but I'm certain when I heard about it from her, she was told by one of them."

"Her? You mean you heard it from Hi--" Hitsugaya interrupted by raising a finger up in front of her, telling her to be quiet.

Matsumoto blinked a few times as she watched him leave his seat and head towards the slide door. He opened it and looked outside to find no one there. "Captain, is there something wrong?" she asked.

Hitsugaya ignored her question as he looked left and right of the empty hallway. It is moments later, the prodigy stepped out of the office to examine the scenery more thoroughly. For a brief moment, the strawberry orange haired Shinigami could have sworn she felt a familiar presence enter the room. But then again, it's probably Captain Hitsugaya's presence. Toshiro re-entered the office with his hands in his black kimono sleeves. After closing the door behind him, he returned to his seat behind his desk.

Just as he sighed with defeat, Matsumoto saw a pair of arms extend from each side of him. From the looks of things, it appears that whoever's arms they belong to, the owner wants to scare the life out of Hitsugaya Toshiro. "Hinamori, I know you're behind me," he finally said. "It's no use trying to scare me."

With a pout of frustration, the raven haired girl appeared from behind the young captain and asked, "Mou, even if I concealed my reiatsu with kido, you're still able to sense me?"

"It's the fact you used kido that I'm able to figure out it was you. Knowing that you're the master of kido techniques, I expected you to try something like this," Hitsugaya replied. "Also, considering the fact that we had that pointless dispute this morning."

"But Shiro-chan, there has to be something that does scare you!" fifth lieutenant, Hinamori Momo said. "Every single one of us has at least one fear. Even Yamamoto-soitaicho fears of something despite his...um, appearance. Therefore, you're no different."

"How many times do I have to tell you to drop the _Shiro-chan_ already? It's Hitsugaya-taicho!"

As the childhood friends continued to bicker with one another, the tenth division vice-captain grinned with amusement. She is liking how the predicament is turning out. Suddenly, she arm hooked around Hinamori's neck and began pulling her away. "Ah Rangiku-san, what are you doing?" Hinamori asked.

"You're coming with me for a moment," Matsumoto replied. "We have some serious girl talking to do."

"If you haven't already known, you're not going anywhere until the paperwork's done," Hitsugaya said to his fukutaicho.

"Daijobou taicho, I'm very certain you're able to finish it without my help. Besides, the paperwork is due tomorrow morning. Ja ne!"

Just as she dragged the fifth division lieutenant out of the office, all they heard is Hitsugaya's loud voice, calling out to her; something that every Shinigami who has been to the tenth division headquarters, have heard at least once in their life. "MATSUMOTO!"

* * *

"You have to tell me the story from the beginning," Matsumoto said. After successfully fleeing from the wrath of her captain, the two vice-captains retreated to the fifth division headquarters for some private time between girls.

Hinamori sighed with defeat. There is no use trying to hide things from her; all secrets will be spilled out by the end of the day. "It was early in the morning when I decided to go to visit Hitsugaya-ku...I mean Hitsugaya-taicho to deliver some paperwork. We exchanged our usual greetings whenever we see each other and talked for a few minutes. I decided to tell him about Halloween, something I heard about from Kuchiki and Abarai-kun which originally heard about it from the Substitute Shinigami."

"So they heard it from Ichigo, huh?"

She nodded with agreement. "Hai. Back to the topic, after explaining to him about the holiday, a thought came up to my mind. So I asked him, what are you scared of? Then, he replies that he's not scared of anything."

"After that, you wanted to prove him wrong," Matsumoto continued. "Since then, you have been trying to scare him."

"Yes, I did, but he wasn't scared at all; not even a startle!"

"What have you tried already?"

"My first attempt is to put a toy cockroach in his desk drawer and get him to jump when he opens it, but it turns out that he wasn't fazed at all. As a matter of fact, he told me that he's not scared of bugs. In my next attempt, I have attempted to a fake arm to tap him on the shoulder, but Hitsugaya-kun scared me instead by suddenly appearing out of nowhere from behind! My last attempt is what you witnessed a while ago."

"Sugoi, you have a lot of time in your hands," the tenth vice-captain said.

"Mou Rangiku-san, focus!"

"Ah, sorry...now what were you saying?"

Momo sighed with defeat. "None of my plans seem to work on him."

Matsumoto placed her pointer finger and thumb on her chin. Thinking about the situation carefully, a thought came into mind. "In that case, you can try to scare him while you're in West Rukongai District 80."

"West Rukongai District 80? Why do I have to be there to scare him?"

"I think you have a better chance to succeed over there. To be honest, later in the day, I was supposed to investigate something over there, but I decided to let you do it for me."

"M-Me? What do I need to investigate?"

"Apparently, there has been word that there are strange happens in the haunted house over there."

"H-Haunted House? What haunted house?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Matsumoto asked. "This rumour has been flying around Soul Society for years or even decades. Luckily, it only appears at night time. People say that there are scary beasts that lives in there. A few Rukongai residents and even Shinigami have went in there to investigate, but they never returned at all."

"N-Nani and you were going to go there?"

"Daijobou," Matsumoto said, patting on the girl's shoulder. "I asked taicho to come with me."

"Souka?"

The strawberry orange haired woman smiled. "Don't worry Hinamori. You're in safe hands."

"Mou, but why do you need to stay here?"

"Ah, well...you see."

"Hn?"

"Ja ne and have fun!" Matsumoto exclaimed as she bolted out of the fifth division office.

"Rangiku-san, chotto...mou," Hinamori said. _"I guess I have no other choice then."

* * *

_He almost ran out of patience. Unlike her terrible habit with paperwork, the prodigy knew his vice-captain is more responsible when it comes to missions. They were supposed to meet in the tenth division courtyard at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. No one is to be late. "Damn, what is taking Matsumoto so long?" Hitsugaya wondered.

All of a sudden, he sensed a familiar presence approaching his direction and it is not Matsumoto. "Hinamori, what are you doing here?"

"Rangiku-san told me she couldn't come. So, she asked me to go in her stead," the fifth fukutaicho replied.

"Really?" Hitsugaya said. He sighed with defeat. "Fine then. Let's get going."

Momo nodded with agreement and followed her childhood friend all the way to West Rukongai District 80 with a determined will to prove to her childhood friend that even he can get scared.

* * *

By the time they have arrived to their destination, the sun has already set, leaving the bright moon to appear high up in the clear sky. It is night time. _"We might encounter it during our investigation," _she thought, remembering what Matsumoto had said hours ago. Looking at the big and scary looking house, it looked old and rusty as if it is ready to collapse at any moment. "This is the place."

"Yeah, it is," Hitsugaya replied as he placed a hand on the cold gate to push it open. It creaked loudly. Just as the tenth captain began to walk through, Momo couldn't help but stay close behind him. "Hinamori."

"Nani?"

"Are you scared?" It took a while for her to notice that she eventually had her hands gripping on the back of his haori. Momo quickly pulled back and shook her head back and forth.

"What are you talking about? I'm not scared!"

Suddenly, a grin appeared on Hitsugaya's face. "Are you sure, Bed-Wetter Momo?"

"Don't call me that!"

"But it's true."

"Mou, let's just get going," Hinamori said as she began marching ahead of him. _"What are you doing? You're supposed to be scaring Hitsugaya-kun as we're doing the investigation."_ She slapped both sides of her cheeks with her hands and clenched them tightly with her new found determination._ "That's right. This time you will get him! You'll prove him wrong. He just like everyone else gets scared!" _

Watching her from behind, he couldn't help but wonder. _"Oi, don't tell me you're still thinking about scaring me at a time like this," _he thought. _"We have a mission to finish. No wonder Matsumoto decided to bail herself out of this mission." _

Hitsugaya sighed. At least she's helping him keep his guard up. Who knows what could happen once they step into the haunted house. All of a sudden, they heard a loud scream.

* * *

**References**

_**Taicho**_ - Captain, _**Reiatsu**_ - Spiritual Pressure, _**Soitaicho**_ - Captain Commander, _**Fukutaicho**_ - Lieutenant/Vice-Captain, _**Daijobou**_ - It's Alright, _**Ja ne**_ - Good Bye (informal/casual), _**Hai**_ - Yes, _**Sugoi **_- Amazing, _**Souka **_- Really/Is That So, _**Chotto **_- Wait

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**Author's Note:** Well, I hope you enjoyed it. This is a three part story I plan to complete by Halloween. So, expect another update within the next two or three days. In the meantime, please review! Thanks!


	2. Were You

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own the _Bleach_ series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for your patience everyone especially to my reviewers:** feronia. wings, MoonLightView, JANET, rolf-hitsugaya, Neko-cheung, KnowledgeandImagination, Kinaia, FrozenIceCream,** and **kRyStAlt3aRz**. Without any further delay, here is part 2. Enjoy!

* * *

**LEGEND**

"Talking."_ "Thinking." _

* * *

**BOO! Were You Scared?**

**Part II:** Were You...

She had her legs resting on the coffee table as Matsumoto sat on the couch with her hands behind her head. She is having the time of her life, relaxing in the tenth division office, while her captain is away on his mission with his childhood friend. Stretching her arms into the air, the strawberry orange haired Shinigami sat up properly to take a sip from her bottle of sake. "Umai!" she exclaimed. "It is great having sake in the night with her drinking buddies! What else can go wrong?"

"But Matsumoto-san," her peer from the third division, Kira Izuru interrupted, "won't Hitsugaya-taicho get mad at you if he catches you doing this?"

"Daijobou Kira, stop being a worrywart! Taicho won't be back until Halloween night. Besides, I have all that calculated ahead of time."

"But still," Hisagi Shuhei, the ninth division lieutenant said, "isn't it a little irresponsible of you to be leaving your captain to complete that mission on his own?"

"Haven't you all been listening for last hour?" Matsumoto replied, slamming her sake bottle on the coffee table. She crossed her arms over her chest. "That is why I asked Hinamori to go with him."

"Souka?"

"I sort of feel sorry for Hinamori-kun," Kira said.

Matsumoto suddenly smiled. "Don't be sorry for her. I'm sure she is doing her best out there to scare the pants off of Hitsugaya-taicho."

Hisagi and Kira both looked at one another and then to an amused Matsumoto. "Scare?" they questioned.

* * *

"What was that?" Hinamori asked.

"It sounds like someone is in trouble," Hitsugaya replied, standing next to the raven haired girl.

"We have to save them! They could be attacked by whatever is living in there."

They heard another scream. The two Shinigami looked up at the open window above them. "It's coming from upstairs," the captain stated before turning to his partner. "We're going to surround the enemy from both sides."

With a nod of agreement, Momo replied, "Hai."

Hinamori rushed inside the house as Hitsugaya leaped up into the air. By the time he is around the same height as the window from the ground, he immediately rushed into the room to find nothing in there. Cautious, the prodigy slowly began scanning the area for clues. Hearing a noise, Hitsugaya turned his head to the side to see Hinamori busting into the room through the door with her Tobiume at hand. "There is nothing in here," the captain stated.

Putting her zanpakuto back in its sheath at the left side of her sash, Hinamori then wondered, "I could have sworn I heard it from this room."

"I did too," Hitsugaya replied, walking up to her. "We're splitting up. You search for clues on the top floor while I look downstairs."

Momo nodded with agreement as she watched her childhood friend leave to start his part of the investigation.

* * *

As Hitsugaya is inspecting each room on the lower level of the house, he recalled the string of rumours that go along with this place. Many residents of West Rukongai District 80 and previous Shinigami who have tried to unlock the mysteries of this haunted house, but never returned to the outside world alive. He is determined to come out of this alive especially when his childhood friend is on this mission as well. There is no way he's going to let her get hurt. Besides, it is part of the promise they have made in their young days as newly graduated Shinigami from the academy.

Hitsugaya opened the door to find his efforts once again bear fruitless. He sighed with defeat. "Nothing's on this floor," he said. After he left the room, the young prodigy decided to see how Hinamori is doing. Hitsugaya went back upstairs only to realize her reiatsu is nowhere to be found. _"Hinamori..."_

He became more anxious as he opened more doors. In every room he checked, there is no Hinamori._ "What if the enemy got to her?"_

Hitsugaya shook his head back and forth. He can't afford to allow himself to think that way. His childhood friend is not weak; she is the fifth division lieutenant of the Gotei 13. He opened the last door in the upper level of the haunted house. Much like the other results, there is no sign of the raven haired girl. Just as he walked deeper into the room, Hitsugaya felt a faint presence nearby.

Without warning, a small ball of red spiritual energy formed at the tip of his fingertips. "Hado Number 31: Shakkaho!" he exclaimed, throwing the kido to the side.

Noticing it made contact with something, Hitsugaya turned his body towards it in preparation for possible battle. It is moments later, he realized what is there. He sighed with defeat, crossed his arms over his chest, and gave her a stern look. "Trying to scare me again, huh?"

No wonder he's a tensai. Hitsugaya is able to figure out once more that Hinamori used kido to hide her spiritual pressure and waited patiently for the right moment to scare him. Momo gave a hesitant laugh. "Hehe...you found me again," she said.

"You can try to scare me all you like after we finish this mission," Hitsugaya replied.

"Hai, gomen nesai."

He turned his back towards her. "You, out of all people, should know that well by now."

Momo sighed with defeat and began to wonder if she is ever going to scare him. But before she could think further, the two Shinigami heard dual screams and yelling from different parts of the house. Hitsugaya turned to the raven haired girl and barked out his orders. "Hinamori, downstairs!" he exclaimed.

"I'm on it!" Hinamori replied before she ran as fast as she could to her destination in the lower level.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya ran out the room and across the hallway to find himself in a bedroom with three children: a boy and two girls, shaking with fear. Running up to them, he bent down on one knee and asked, "Are any of you hurt?"

Then, without warning, one of them bit the upper half of his left arm. Feeling the sudden pain, Hitsugaya quickly used his other hand to knock against the back of the boy's neck, breaking free. Luckily, the boy only managed to tear off a section of his kimono sleeves or else the prodigy would have possibly lost an arm. Hitsugaya shunpoed a few steps back, making some distance between him and the children. He gave a low growl as he placed his right hand on his injury. Applying pressure to it, he prevented anymore blood from dripping down his stained arm. "I was naïve, I should have known that you three are not children at all," Hitsugaya said, watching them change into their true forms. "Somehow you are able to conceal your reiatsu and is able to change your appearance. You three are Hollows."

They took the appearance similar to that of a bat, a wolf, and a spider. The three Hollows roared. His eyes narrowed as he began to watch their movements. "Even though there's more of you, doesn't mean you'll win easily."

As he slowly reached to the hilt of his blade with his right hand, one of them made the first move. Just when the wolf Hollow is about to pounce on him, Hitsugaya quickly drew his zanpakuto and held it sideways, preventing his enemy from having to take a bite out of his flesh. Noticing the other two Hollows leaping towards him, the prodigy pushed the wolf back and flashed stepped to the side, avoiding the attacks. He swung his left arm to the side, making the dripping blood splatter on the three Hollows. They gave out a fierce roar. He successfully stopped or slowed them in their tracks.

There is no time to waste; Hitsugaya charged at them and sliced through each and every one of them several times over with his zanpakuto, Hyroinmaru. By the time he is on the other side of the room, the tenth captain put his guard down and looked back. The Hollows were eliminated.

Withdrawing his zanpakuto on his back, Hitsugaya used his right hand to rip out another piece of his kimono sleeve and tie it up around his injury. Once he rejoins with his partner, he will ask her to heal his wound. _"Hinamori..."_

Remembering the raven haired girl, Hitsugaya ran downstairs to find the girl. Following her reiatsu, he was guided all the way to a large and empty room. Looking around, she is nowhere to be found. "Hinamori, don't you dare try to scare me. It's not funny," Hitsugaya called out, walking to the middle of the room. All of a sudden, something caught in his sights. Walking over to the broken window in the room, he picked up the object that was caught onto the broken glass. It is a small light blue cloth. He knew exactly who it belongs to. Clenching the cloth in his fist, it didn't take long for the prodigy to come to one conclusion. "She has been taken by them."

* * *

**References**

_**Umai **_- Delicious,_** Taicho**_ - Captain, _**Daijobou**_ - It's Alright, _**Souka**_ - Really/Is that so, _**Hai**_ - Yes, _**Reiatsu **_- Spiritual Pressure,_** Tensai**_ - Genius/Prodigy, _**Gomen nesai**_ - I'm Sorry, _**Shunpo**_ - Flash Step

* * *

**Author's Note:** O.O Oh no! Momo's kidnapped! What is Toshiro's going to do? Find out what happens in my next update (on Halloween!) Please review! Thanks!


	3. Scared?

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own the _Bleach_ series in any way. All copyrights go to Tite Kubo.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Happy Halloween everyone! Thank you all for being patient especially to my reviewers: **feronia. wings, Angel of the Midnight Sea, KnowledgeandImagination, Neko-cheung, MoonLightView,** **rolf-Hitsugaya**, and **nexuswarrior**. Here is the last installment of the story. Enjoy!

* * *

**LEGEND**

"Talking."_ "Thinking." Flash Back.  
_

* * *

**BOO! Were You Scared?**

**Part III:** Scared?

He pounded the bottom of his fist against the wall he leaned against. For the past fifteen minutes, Hitsugaya searched high and low throughout the haunted house for the missing fifth division lieutenant, but Lady Luck wasn't on his side. Regardless, he is determined to find her. He won't allow Hinamori to become a victim of the infamous haunted house tale. He can't afford to fail her again; not here, not now.

The white haired Shinigami took a deep breath to calm down. _"Relax, you figured out her whereabouts many times before. You can do it again if you keep a cool head," _he thought. _"If she isn't in the house, then she must be somewhere nearby." _

He decided to start his investigation by searching through the streets of West Rukongai District 80. However, just when he is about to go through the front door outside, Hitsugaya was repelled back by an invisible force. Taking a closer look at it, he placed his hand out in front of him only to find himself trapped inside by a mysterious barrier. "So that's why no one is able to return," he said.

Taking a step back, the prodigy took out his zanpakuto and tried to slice the barrier open, but the slash did not leave a single scratch. He then raised his pointer finger at it and called out a kido spell. "Hado Number 4: Byakurai!"

A jolt of yellow spiritual energy is fired at the barrier. However, the result remains the same. "Tch, even kido is useless."

All of a sudden, he heard an echoing laugh. "Of course, I made sure my prey doesn't escape my grasp," said a voice.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hinamori?" Hitsugaya called out.

"Hinamori? It must be the name of that Shinigami I just captured."

_"So he does have her."_

"She smells quite tasty. However, she doesn't compare to you. You're quite delicious for one so small. You're a Shinigami Captain."

"If you dare hurt her, I'll kill you," he warned.

The echo laughed once more. "Kill me? That's only if you find us. But then again, we could come to an agreement. If you're willing to give yourself in, I'll release your girl."

Hitsugaya's eye twitched. "Let get this through your thick head; Hinamori's not my girlfriend. Also, I doubt you're going to keep your side of the bargain Hollow."

"So, I'm dealing with a smart one, huh? Fine then, have it your way. Have fun trying to find us!"

Hearing the fading echoing laugh annoyed the young prodigy. He growled with frustration. _"He's watching me from nearby. So that means Hinamori is not too far away as well,"_ he thought. _"There must be a place where I haven't looked yet."_

With that said, Hitsugaya decided that he will inspect the whole house all over again from top to bottom. He has to do it quickly because the fate of his childhood friend hangs in the balance.

* * *

"Momo wake up," called out a voice.

The raven haired Shinigami groaned and slowly opened her eyes to see a kimono girl at her side. "Tobiume..." she said.

"Are you alright?" the zanpakuto spirit asked as she helped her master sit up.

Hinamori nodded with agreement. "Yeah, I'm alright. I must have worried you."

Tobiume smiled. "You did, but now that I know you're alright, I can relax."

"Gomen nesai."

"Iie, don't be."

Momo looked around to find herself in an enclosed room. "Am I in a basement or something?"

"Maybe," Tobiume replied, watching her master standing up, "but how did we get here anyway?"

Placing a hand on her chin, the fifth division lieutenant thought out loud. "Well..."

* * *

_"Hinamori, downstairs!" he exclaimed._

_"I'm on it!" Hinamori replied before she ran as fast as she could to her destination in the lower level. She watched a young boy running away from a group of five Hollows. "He needs my help," she said, drawing out her zanpakuto from its sheath. _

_She used shunpo to get in between the boy and the Hollows. With no time to waste, Hinamori charged at the Hollows and began to cut them down, one by one. By the time they were eliminated, the raven haired Shinigami grabbed the boy's hand and ran in the other direction. It didn't take long for more Hollows to appear and start chasing after them. _

_At one point, Momo turned around to see one of them has caught up with them. It roared as it tried to claw them down. She barely evaded the attack. However, the blue cloth on her bun isn't too lucky. "I have to get him somewhere safe," Momo thought. They continued running until they were stopped. "Mou, why now out of all times?" she asked as they stood in front of a wall. "A dead end." _

_Seeing the shadow of Hollows behind her, the Shinigami turned around and put her guard up, ready to take them down at any moment. "I guess there's no other choice, but to defeat them all at once." _

_The boy, on the other hand, had a wide smile on his face. Placing his hand on the candle handle and started pulling it. All of a sudden, Momo screamed as she is suddenly consumed by darkness.

* * *

_"That's right, I must have went into some sort of secret passage," Momo concluded. "Oh yeah, where's that boy?"

"I don't know," Tobiume replied. "He wasn't here when I was watching over you."

"Souka?"

"Hai."

"Well, we better start finding our way out. Right about now, Hitsugaya-kun must have figured out that I suddenly disappeared. Most likely he has already started searching."

"Alright then, I'll lead the way."

"Arigato."

* * *

He found his way back to the room where he found Hinamori's blue cloth. It is his only clue to figuring out his lost friend's location. "We know she was in this room," said a voice.

"The question remains: where did she go next?" Hitsugaya replied as he continued walking close to the wall.

By the time he reached the other side of the room, the white haired captain suddenly punched against the enclosed wall. "Stay calm master. I know you're worried. We'll find her."

Leaning against it, he took a deep breath and looked up to the teal-green haired tall man that suddenly stood before him. "Thank you, Hyorinmaru."

He felt a gentle breeze. Hitsugaya quickly turned around and placed his hand on the wall. "What is it?" Hyorinmaru asked.

"Air is coming through this wall. It's hollow."

"Then that means...there's a secret passage behind it."

"Hyorinmaru."

"Yes master," the zanpakuto spirit replied before reverting back to its sword form.

Grabbing Hyorinmaru by the hilt with both his hands, Hitsugaya sliced the wall in different directions before ceasing his attack. Moments later, the wall slices came tumbling down, revealing a hallway passage behind it. "Her reiatsu was here," he stated. _"Hinamori's for sure inside somewhere." _

Hitsugaya walked in with high hopes of finding the fifth division fukutaicho until he heard a loud echoing scream. "Hinamori!"

He used shunpo to quickly run through the hallway and find Hinamori Momo captured by a large snake-like Hollow. "Well, look what we have here," it said. "The main course has finally found his way here."

She managed to open an eye to see her childhood friend standing there, growling with frustration. "Hi-tsu-gaya...kun..."

Holding out his zanpakuto in front of him, Hitsugaya got into battle position and disappeared from sight. Reappearing behind the Huge Hollow, he tried to pierce through the creature only to be repelled back. The Hollow laughed. "You can try to cut me down, but it appears your sword is too dull."

Then, a group of smaller Hollows appeared from the wall's cracks and surrounded the tenth division captain. Hitsugaya kissed between his teeth and began slicing them down. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Huge Hollow is preparing to eat up his childhood friend. Time is running out. The young prodigy called upon his zanpakuto's shikai form and threw the crescent chain hook around the Hollow's throat. He pulled the chain towards himself, preventing the Hollow from consuming Momo. Raising his pointer finger towards the Hollow's body section where the fifth fukutaicho is wrapped around, Hitsugaya called out a kido spell. "Hado Number 1: Sho!"

Once released, Hinamori landed on the ground and began coughing, seeking for air to recirculate in her lungs. Momo turned around to see Captain Hitsugaya is about to be attacked. "Hitsugaya-kun!" she exclaimed.

"Hado Number 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" Hitsugaya called out, sending a yellow electrical spiritual energy through his chain and towards the Huge Hollow, fiercely shocking it.

"Damn you Shinigami!" it cried out. "You made my appetizer run away. You're going to pay for this!"

The Huge Hollow roared as it charged at the young white haired captain who only stood there and raised his zanpakuto at him. "You're finished Hollow," he said.

Momo placed her hands on her mouth. Her childhood friend didn't try to escape at all. He allowed the Huge Hollow to consume him. "No...SHIRO-CHAN!" she yelled.

Just as the Huge Hollow looked down at the scared Shinigami girl, he grinned. "You're mine..." But before he could do anything else, he stopped. The tingly feeling inside of him felt strange. "Tch, the little brat isn't digested yet, huh?"

He punched a particular section in his stomach only to have his fist pierced by a blade that stuck out from the inside out. All of a sudden, the Hollow began crying out loud. Momo noticed that from that section, the Hollow quickly began freezing. Eventually, the Huge Hollow was horizontally sliced in half, revealing the freed tenth captain of the Gotei 13. "You may have hard skin on the outside," he said, turning towards the large snake, "but it only means you have a sensitive inside."

Noticing the smaller Hollows around him, Hitsugaya released a large spiritual pressure, pushing the Hollows back. Just as he is about to slice them down, he heard a voice called out, "Hajike, Tobiume!"

Several fireballs of energy flew past the captain and making contact with the Hollows. The young captain retreated to Hinamori's side and watched their enemies get caught in the explosion. Seeing that all of them have been purified into the atmosphere, the two sighed with relief. They made eye contact with one another and quickly looked the other way. "Are you okay?" Hitsugaya asked.

Momo replied, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Thanks..."

"Iie, I should be...thanking you," Hinamori suddenly turned around and replied. "Besides, you're the one that came to my rescue." Then she watched her childhood friend began walking ahead of her. She could have sworn she saw the faint smile of relief on his lips. "Hitsugaya-kun..."

"Let's...get out of here."

She then nodded and followed right behind him. "Yeah."

* * *

Once they made it outside the now not so haunted house, Momo began healing her friend's injury. "There, it's all healed up! You're as good as new!" Hinamori said.

"If only I could say the same about my hygiene," Hitsugaya replied. "I need a shower."

Momo giggled and then walked alongside with the young captain towards Seireitei. Before long, the raven haired girl remembered she hasn't scared her childhood friend. Just as she is about to conceal herself, Hitsugaya suddenly said, "It's no use trying Hinamori. I already know you're trying to scare me again."

"Mou, what can't you allow yourself to be scared for once?!" Momo pouted. "Stop acting tough and admit you were scared at one point in your life!"

A grin formed on his lips. He stopped and turned around to face the stopped fifth lieutenant. "Alright then, I was scared."

Hinamori blinked. "You had to be lying. Your confession sounds fake."

"Whether you believe it or not, it's up to you," Hitsugaya replied. "I was truly scared a while back when we were in that haunted house."

Momo grinned. "You were? Who or what scared you Shiro-chan?"

"Well...you did."

"Me?"

"When I found out you disappeared, I-I became very worried. I feared the worse of what might happened to you. It was an all too familiar terrible feeling inside me; the feeling that I might never see you again."

"Hitsugaya-kun..."

He looked away for a moment to give out a giggle. "It is also when I realized something," he looked into her chocolate brown eyes and finished his sentence. "I'm have strong feelings for you. Momo, I think I love you."

"I-I don't know what to say," Hinamori replied, quite surprised by his words. "I-I never thought you would have these feelings for me."

"I understand if you don't ever feel the same way," Hitsugaya said. "As long as you're happy, then I am too." The young captain then turned around and began walking once more. "Let's head back to Seireitei."

"Shiro-chan," Momo suddenly said.

He stopped and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I'll ever be truly happy."

"Don't be so hard on yoursel--"

Momo suddenly placed her lips on his, surprising the young captain by her boldness. Seconds later, he wrapped his arms around her, closed his eyes, and allowed the first time kissing experience to take its toll. Minutes later, when they finally ran out of oxygen, Momo completed her previous sentence. "Not unless you're at my side Toshiro."

Hitsugaya smiled. "That can be arranged."

With their hands intertwined with one another, the two lovers returned to the home of the Shinigami with new expectations of a brighter future together starting today on this Halloween night.

**~ OWARI ~**

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**References**

_**Gomen nesai**_** - **I'm Sorry_**, Iie**_ - No_**, Shunpo**_ - Flash Step_**, Souka**_ - Really/Is that so_**, Hai**_** -** Yes_**, Arigato**_ - Thank You, _**Fukutaicho**_ - Lieutenant/Vice-Captain, _**Owari**_ - The End

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**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed the story as I enjoyed coming up with it. Anyways, please review for final comments and stuff. I'll be back again soon with another short shot! Laterz!


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